>Companies could think more about rewarding exceptional effort with equity in the company.
>
>That's hard to say. Years ago I was in a situation where I either could have had raises and bonuses, or actual formal equity. I chose the former then, and I'd chose the former today.

Guess you weren't working for Google then :-}

http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2012/02/07/what-startup-could-make-me-a-millionaire-in-four-years-if-i-got-hired-as-an-employee-today/

"The janitor who joined Google and received $1,000 in equity, would be worth 4 million in 2008.
An engineer who received 50k in equity would be worth 100 million in 2008.
The chef at Google made 28 million."


>
>I understand your point - I think other perks (anything ranging from child care services, good food service, ability to go to conferences, etc) can be important as well.